Writing for the Web: Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I told you some things about your potential website readers. Now that you understand them a bit more, it is time to begin writing for them.

Here are my top ten pointers for writing content on your website.

1. Be informal. This isn’t a formal English class or a research paper. This is you and your company addressing potential and current clients. Talk to them as though they were there with you.  Also, address your customer as “you.” For instance, “ABC has what you need” rather than “ABC has what our customers need.”
2. Talk in plain language. In addition to being informal, be plain. Don’t use jargon or acronyms. Unless you are a writer, you don’t know what POD is, so if I told you that I could help you write a POD book, you wouldn’t know what I was offering. POD=Print on Demand – so I would need to say so!
3. Be consistent.  If you call your product XYZ, always call it XYZ. If you refer to a process, call it the same thing every time. For instance, I could say Print on Demand or self-publish. I would need to pick my terminology and then stick with it. You also want your site to have a consistent feel. Each page should reflect the same style as the homepage.
4. Scan the pages easily. Use bullet points, bold type, highlighted areas, or underlined words. You want your reader to continue to scan down the page and not be bogged down in paragraphs and paragraphs of type.
5. Answer the “So what?” question. Your customer doesn’t want to know all the features of what you have to offer. They want to know what they are going to get out of it on an emotional level. They want to know “What’s in it for me?”
6. Answer “What Now?” Tell your customers what you want them to do next. Tell them to order or subscribe. Tell them to join or visit. Tell them to donate or enquire. Don’t just assume they will know.
7. Be definite. Don’t use wishy-washy words like might or maybe or can. You don’t want to tell your customer that they might get more return on their dollar using your product. You need to tell them that they will get more return on their dollar. If you can’t state it 100%, don’t state it at all.
8. Be reachable. Do not just have an email contact form. If you use a form, be sure that the page also includes your phone number and email address so they can contact you directly. Also, add specific contact names. For instance, if you have someone in charge of marketing, list them as such.
9. Be helpful. Provide useful, free information that your customers may need. Provide links to informational sites. Provide PDF downloads. Show your customer that you care about more than earning a dollar. Be sure that you update your page often, both adding new information and deleting information that is no longer relevant.
10. Be interactive. You want your customers to “do” something while at your site rather than just read. Invite them to do things while there, such as sign up for a newsletter or enter a competition, or participate in a poll or survey. Make them feel involved in your company.

If you follow these ten tips, you will be well on your way to writing a website with good content; and good content keeps people coming back to your site.

[Feel free to contact me with any of your writing needs: teribclark@gmail.com] 

Writing for the Web: Part 1

Your marketing plan should include the Internet. At the very least, you need to have a website. You might also want to consider a blog, a Facebook presence, a Twitter account, a local social media, LinkedIn, Google Advertising, an ebook, and more. For many businesses, Internet marketing is a large portion of their advertising. Therefore, it is important to know a few things about your potential readers.
 
Research suggests that website users:

1. Visit your website for a reason. Most visitors are not just surfing around for fun. They are looking for something specific. If they can’t find what they want, they leave your site for another.
2. Don’t read everything. That’s right. Visitors often scan pages and read headlines.
3. Want to feel active. They want to click through to pages and take surveys and be involved, rather than just read along.
4. Visit pages quickly. Most visitors will scan from page to page without staying on one page for very long.
5. Have a short attention span.
6. Want everything to show on the page. They do not want to scroll up and down and really do not want to scroll left to right.
7. Dislike flash intros. Most visitors click the “skip” icon.
8. Don’t always enter via your homepage. As they search, visitors often come up with a URL for any one of your pages on your website.

Understanding what your website visitor is looking for will help you write good copy. In Part 2 of this series, I will give you some helpful writing hints and tips.

Eight Tips to Improve Your Business Writing

All businesses are information driven. Communication is the key. And for most people in business, the communication often comes in the written form. Think about it: there are emails, business letters, presentations, memos, proposals, training materials, promotional materials, grant proposals, and more. 

In the business world today, you need to be able to write. In fact, writing becomes more critical with each passing year. Learning to write effectively will help you improve your business and improve your chances for promotion.

Here are 8 tips to point you in the right direction.

 

1. Keep It Brief: People do not want to read reams of paper. They do not want to hear every thought process that went through your head. They want the facts and they want them laid out neatly. One way to keep someone moving through what you have to say is with bullet points. Be sure to answer the relevant questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? And How? 

2. Avoid Business Jargon: Don’t say synergy when you can just say working together. People want to know what is really on your mind and not be bothered with some fancy term. Stick with what they know. If you must use a technical term, be sure to explain it plainly. The point of the communication is to have your reader understand you.
 
3.      Check Your Work: Proofread. You do not want a stupid typo making you look bad. The worst time to proofread your work is immediately after writing it. Always give yourself several hours between writing and proofing so that you can spot those embarrassing errors.
 
4.      Watch Names, Titles, and Genders: I do not like being addressed as Mr. Clark, nor do I like it when someone adds an extra “r” to Teri. I am not alone. No one wants to be addressed incorrectly. If you aren’t sure of the spelling of someone’s name, either avoid using it or check with someone that does know. Use “they” and “their” when you aren’t sure of the gender.
 
5.      Keep Your Writing For Future Use: Oftentimes, we can use the same materials again with only minor changes. Keep documents that you may be able to use again as a template for future communications.
 
6.      Keep It Professional: Business writing is not the place for jokes, gossip, or personal comments. You don’t’ have to use formal language, but you do want people to see you as a professional.
 
7.      Get Them to DO Something: Business communication is meant to achieve something. Your written material should ask your reader to do something, and preferably, do something right away.
 
8.      Give Them the Benefits: Explain right up front what your written material is going to do for the reader. You want them to care about your communication to them. For instance, in the beginning of this blog, I told you that writing better could help your bottom line or get you promoted. If you were interested in either of those benefits, then you are still reading this post!
 

Effective writing is a learnable skill. It just takes practice. Keep these tips in mind this week as your communicate effectively with those around you.

[If you have important information to convey and don’t feel that your writing is up to the task, the best advice is to hire someone who is. Feel free to contact me concerning any of your business writing needs at teribclark@gmail.com]